God seems to love calling his followers to do things that simply do not make sense—at least to the
outside world. Our adoption has (naturally) been a big topic of conversation in
our lives recently. Almost every time I talk to family or run into someone at
work or church they ask about our adoption. The vast majority of these conversations
are positive and encouraging.
But there
are many folks to simply don’t understand. Why
would you want to adopt? Can you not have children “of your own?” Why would you
want to adopt before having “your own” children? Why Africa? Why not adopt an
American? Why adopt someone from a different race?
Most of
these questions are not asked with ill intent, but it is clear that to many,
our calling to adopt a child from Africa simply does not make sense.
I’m often
reminded of the exchange between God and Moses in Exodus 3, when God calls
Moses to lead the Israelites out of Egypt:
“But Moses
said to God, ‘Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out
of Egypt?’” And God said, “I will be with you.” (Exodus 3:11-12)
God comes to
Moses and directly calls him to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. This is no
small task. In fact, God is calling Moses to lead one of the most important
events in human history.
The people
of Israel had multiplied greatly in Egypt but had become enslaved by Pharaoh. Exodus
1:11 says, “They put slave masters over them to oppress them with forced labor.”
In Exodus 3:10 we see God beginning to enact His plan to liberate His people. He
says to Moses, “So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the
Israelites out of Egypt.”
Think about
how outrageous that sounds. God is sending one man—an Israelite—to the king of
Egypt to demand freedom for the Israelites. Here is how Moses responds:
But Moses
said to God, “Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out
of Egypt?”
To Moses, God’s
command simply did not make sense. If God wanted to liberate the Israelites from
Egypt, wouldn’t an army of angels be the best means? But God sends Moses, a man
unconfident in himself and admits he cannot even speak well (Ex. 4:10).
His questioning
of God’s command is exactly how I would have reacted in the same situation: “Who
am I that I should go to Pharaoh? Why on earth would the king of Egypt listen
to me and do what I say? He’ll kill me!”
I love God’s
response in 3:12: “I will be with you.”
God doesn’t
respond by reassuring Moses of all of his strengths and gifts. God doesn’t try
to explain His plan to Moses and reason with Him as to why the plan “makes
sense.”
God simply
says, “I will be with you.”
In other
words, Moses is a nobody. Moses has
no business getting in Pharaoh’s face, demanding the release of the Israelites.
But it’s not about Moses. It’s about God.
Moses’
question is Moses-centered: Who am I,
that I should go to Pharaoh?
God’s
response is God-centered: I will be
with you.
I sometimes
wonder why God has called Whitney and me to adopt a child from another
continent. My thoughts, like Moses, are Derek-centered. Who am I, that I should be a father to this child? What qualifications
do I have? Will I be a good father? Do I have what it takes?
These
questions are all Derek-centered. God’s response, as always, is God-centered: I
will be with you.
In your walk
with Christ, God will inevitably call you to do something that does not “make
sense.” You will not be able to see where the path leads, but if you trust God’s
leading, you can be assured that He will be with you. It may be a difficult
path (as Moses’ was!), but it will be the good path. It may not be the safe
path, but it will be the righteous path. It will certainly not be a path
heavily traveled, but we can be assured that God has already walked it before
us.
And remember, it’s not about what you bring to
the table. It’s about God. He will be with you, and that’s all that really
matters.
